Aliquippa School Board Accepts Music Teacher’s Resgination

THE ALIQUPPA SCHOOL BOARD HAS ACCEPTED THE RESIGNATION OF A MUSIC TEACHER. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

Gov. Tom Wolf Plans To Sign Driver’s License Bill

Pennsylvania’s governor plans to sign a bill that would end the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for those convicted of drug offenses unrelated to driving. The House on Wednesday voted to send the legislation to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who supports it. A House legislative document says the state Transportation Department handles about 33,000 such license suspensions annually.

Arrest Made In New Castle Triple Homicide

Authorities have arrested a 19-year-old in the fatal shooting of a man, a woman and her 10-year-old daughter in Lawrence County. Stephen Procopio told WPXI-TV “I didn’t hurt her” as he was taken into custody. He’ll be arraigned later today. Authorities found the bodies of 31-year-old Nichole Pumphrey, 10-year-old Amariah Emery and 31-year-old Lawrence Cannon in a New Castle home on Tuesday.

70th Anniversary Moments – Gene Romano

This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of when Beaver County’s first radio station, WBVP, was heard over the airwaves for the the first time on May 25, 1948.  To mark the historical event, each week, another “70th Anniversary Moment” will be showcased on the airwaves and published on the station’s online feeds.

Beaver County is often cited as being a “hotbed” for football talent.  There are dozens of players that have played professionally over the years, and a good handful or so active in the N.F.L. right now.  While not as familiar to many people, but just as impressive, is the fact that Beaver County has also been a “hotbed”  for broadcasters, producing many national caliber on air talent and management people over the years.  One of the shining stars that originally sat behind a microphone for the first time in Beaver County, and then go on to achieve big things is Gene Romano.

Gene Romano grew up in Ambridge and started working at WMBA while still in high school in 1976.  Romano continues to live in the Pittsburgh area  and was interviewed for the recently published book  , Behind The Microphone, The History Of Radio In Beaver County, PA. Romano wanted to do sports play by play initially and that was what sparked his interest in radio, and WMBA would have been a natural fit for a young man wanting to break into that aspect of broadcasting, With Bill Fontana, Chris Shovlin and Jay Knafel calling the action, WMBA had a huge sports presence in Beaver County and was sometimes doing three high school football games in a single weekend, many of which happening at Romano’s alma mater, Moe Rubenstein Stadium in Ambridge.  Like many broadcasters, though, sometimes availability dictates what direction one travels in their career. For Romano, that meant cueing up records, taking requests, reading the weather and other fine details of hosting a top 40 music format show. It was a direction and a path that he continued to follow all the way up to creating and shaping the sound and image of some of the nation’s most popular radio stations, including local Pittsburgh legendary rock radio station, WDVE.” 

These days, Gene Romano, manages and directs a huge staff of announcers  across the country as a programming executive for iHeart media, but one of the lessons that he learned on how to direct and encourage his fellow radio station staffers, happened many years ago in the Duss Avenue studio of WMBA.  Romano happened to be on duty on on August 16, 1977, the day Elvis Presley passed away.  When interviewed for the book, Romano shared an amusing story about that occasion: “The program director told me to play Elvis music, and I really didn’t know or care alot about Elvis, I liked the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Springsteen and others.  So, I really didn’t think anything about it and didn’t really understand what the fuss was all about, but I did what I was told and played the Elvis Presley songs. It’s funny, because nowadays, I’ve had to have that same conversation with announcers and programmers at iHeart, like  when prince died and when Tom Petty died. Sometimes, the announcers didn’t know alot about those singers, and I had to fill them in and relate how important their songs and contributions were, just like I had to be brought up to speed about Elvis back when”

Later on in the publication, Romano’s biography is recounted and is just as impressive as any one of the Beaver County football players who has had a hall of fame career: “Gene Romano graduated from Ambridge Area High school in 1977 and had already started working at WMBA in his junior year. It was in State College, while attending Penn State University, that Romano landed his first full time Program Director job at WQWK from 1979 to 1981. After the college town job, Romano greeted Allentown residents as they woke up each day as the morning show host and Program Director at WZZO until 1987.  Then, he moved back to Pittsburgh in 1988 to serve as the Program Director for WDVE, a position he held until 1997 when Romano accepted a position with Jacor Communications in Cincinnati as National Director of Rock Programming. After being promoted to Senior Vice president of Programming in 1999, corporate mergers and acquisitions between Jacor, AM-FM and Clear Channel, then allowed Romano to move back to Pittsburgh and work out of their Greentree station cluster offices.   In 2004 Romano’s title was again upgraded to Executive Vice President of Programming for Clear Channel Communications- Radio Division, a post he continues to man, but under Clear Channel’s new name, iHeart Media.”

70th Anniversary Moments” is presented by  Abbey Carpet and Floor,  Albert’s Heating, Cooling and Plumbing,  Aliquippa Giant Eagle, The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, Beaver Valley Auto Mall, Beaver Valley Sheet Metal, Castlebrook Development, The Community College Of Beaver County,  Farmers Building and Savings Bank, Freedom United Federal Credit Union, Hank’s Frozen Custard and Mexican food, The Health Huts, Kitchen City, Laughlin Insurance Agency,  Rochester Manor and Villa and Young’s Jewelry and Coins

7th Avenue In Beaver Falls Is Getting A Multi-Million Dollar Makeover

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

It was announced last night at a public meeting at the Beaver Falls Municipal Building that PENNDOT will be beginning a year-long revamping of 7th Avenue in Beaver Falls, which carries the main traffic as part of PA State Route 18.

The head speaker for the meeting was Project Manager Matt Boyko, who talked about the main purpose of the new project:

 

Project manager Matt Boyko.

The new roadway will turn the now four-lane highway into a 3-lane highway, which will include parallel parking from 3rd Street to 8th Street, and new reverse “back-in” parking from 8th Street to 20th Street (referred to by Boyko as the “main business district”). It will also feature bike lanes for bicyclists and “bump stops” at each intersection to help minimize congestion.

As extensive a project as it is, Boyko says that it will not force any detours in downtown Beaver Falls:

 

During the public meeting, Boyko mentioned that it will be a multi-million dollar project:

 

When taking questions, it was made clear that special events (such as the Car Cruise) will not have to worry about construction if plans are made ahead of time:

 

Despite the emphasis on safety and reinvigoration, there was some concern among the attendees. One made clear his feelings that citizens navigate 7th Avenue just fine as it is:

 

Another woman raised her concerns involving delivery trucks in the city:

 

The construction is set to begin in mid-April of 2019 and expected to last throughout the majority of the year. Photos below feature examples and further details of what travelers can expect.

Beaver County Gets $350,000 For Recycling

BEAVER COUNTY HAS RECEIVED A 350-THOUSAND-DOLLAR GRANT FOR ITS RECYCLING PROGRAM. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO REPORTS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

 

PennDOT To Hold Public Meeting In Beaver Falls Tonight

PENNDOT IS SET TO HOLD A PUBLIC MEETING IN BEAVER FALLS TONIGHT…TO REVEAL AND DISPLAY PLANS FOR WHAT IT IS CALLING THE 7TH AVENUE PROJECT. PENNDOT SAYS IT PLANS TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE PROPOSED CHANGES FOR ROUTE 18, THE CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE AND TRAFFIC CONTROL. OFFICIALS WILL ALSO BE GATHERING FEEDBACK ON THE PROJECT. TONIGHT’S MEETING IS SCHEDULED FROM 5 TO 6:30 P-M AT THE BEAVER FALLS MUNICIPAL BUILDING. OUR OWN MATT DRZIK WILL BE THERE AND WILL HAVE A DETAILED REPORT ON AM BEAVER COUNTY BEGINNING AT 6:30 TOMORROW MORNING.

Man Seriously Injured After Bar Fight In Monaca

A man is badly hurt after a bar fight in Monaca Saturday night. Police were called to Whiskey Rhythm Bar on the 11-hundred block of Pennsylvania Avenue for a man unconscious on the bathroom floor. The man had to be flown to the hospital in an unknown condition after the fight. Surveillance video caught 26-year-old Steven Spencer and 22-year-old Skyler Huskins following the man into the bathroom before the altercation. The two are in Beaver County Jail in lieu of 75-thousand-dollars bail.

Man Dies After Fall From Roof In Moon Township

A 24-year old man died Tuesday morning after falling off of the roof of a Moon Township home. According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, Oscar Trujillo was pronounced dead at Sewickley Hospital at 9:26 a.m. from injuries he sustained roughly 45 minutes earlier after falling from a roof at 125 Apple Blossom Way in Moon. Moon police are investigating.